HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland Annual Report 2011-12

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland 

Annual Report 

2011-12

Cover: Horse and Plough Sculpture built by prisoners at HMP Barlinnie


Annual Report 

2011-12 

SG/2012/167 

Scottish Government Criminal Justice Directorate 

Laid before the Scottish Parliament by the Scottish Ministers 

September 2012

© Crown copyright 2012 

ISBN: 978-1-78256-090-6 

The Scottish Government 

St Andrew’s House 

Edinburgh 

EH1 3DG 

Further copies are available from: 

Dorothy Halliday 

HMIPS 

Y1.4 

Saughton House 

Broomhouse Drive 

Edinburgh 

EH11 3XD 

APS Group Scotland 

DPPAS13340 (09/12) 

ii

CONTENTS 

Page 

Chapter 1 Overview 1 

Introduction 1 

Young Offenders and the Prevention Agenda 1 

Inspection Year 2011-12 3 

Main Issues: 5 

Women Offenders and Cornton Vale 5 

Access to Purposeful Activity 6 

Family Access 9 

Preparation for Release 11 

Way Forward 12 

Other Issues and Challenges Ahead 12 

Sex Offenders 12 

Delivery of Good Practice 12 

Use of Video Courts 12 

Summary 12 

Chapter 2 Summary of Inspections Undertaken 13 

Establishments 

Other Reports 

HMP Dumfries 13 

HMP Barlinnie 14 

HMP Kilmarnock 16 

HMP Glenochil 17 

HMP & YOI Cornton Vale 18 

Legalised Police Cells 19 

Conditions in which prisoners are transported and held in 

Sheriff and JP courts while under escort 19 

Chapter 3 Review of the Prison Inspectorate’s Year 2011-2012 21 

Inspections and Other Reports 

Submission to the Scottish Parliament 

HMIPS Staff 

Finance 

Communications 

iii

1. OVERVIEW 


Brigadier Hugh Monro CBE 

Introduction 

My third Annual Report is a reflection of inspecting 

year 2011–12. It focuses on the main issues I have 

seen whilst formally inspecting Barlinnie, Kilmarnock, 

Dumfries, Glenochil 1 and Cornton Vale 2 and also 

informally visiting all of Scotland’s prisons and 

speaking to prisoners, staff, prisoner families as well 

as those Third Sector organisations which bring so 

much to helping prisoners. The Inspectorate also 

looked at every Legalised Police Cell (LPC) in Scotland 

and reported in December 2011 that five out of nine 

could be considered for closure. 3 During the 

reporting period we have also inspected all cells in 

Sheriff Courts and prisoner escort arrangements. 

Gardens, HMP Dumfries 

1 Unannounced follow-up inspection. 

2 2nd unannounced follow-up inspection. 

3 Report recommends that only Hawick, Kirkwall, Lerwick and 

Stornoway should remain as LPCs, the remainder should close. 

This Annual Report will look at a number of issues, 

most notably female offenders and Cornton Vale. In 

last year’s Annual Report I commented on ‘The 

Context of Young Offending in Scotland’ and, this 

year, I am able to report on some follow-up visits I 

have made to look at this issue. 

Young Offenders and the Prevention 

Agenda 

There are a number of common themes that I pick 

up when speaking to young offenders in prison. The 

vast majority realise they have made a poor choice at 

a critical time in their lives and this has often led to a 

prison sentence. Based on my focus groups at 

Polmont, almost all of them have been excluded 

from school and this has caused, among other 

issues, a very poor start in life. Last year I reported: 

“It is these young people I eventually get to talk to in 

Polmont or Cornton Vale. It is not only a tragedy that 

they have taken this route (because the majority will 

inevitably re-offend) but also that the talents they 

have been given have not been developed and 

nurtured at an early age, so that they can, like their 

peers, be a positive asset.” 

I am privileged to be invited to see a number of 

groups who address areas of youth risk. I want to 

deal briefly with two examples I have seen during 

this year, where the growing up process can be 

improved and the risks of offending reduced. 

Firstly, and as a direct result of my call in last year’s 

Annual Report for more inclusion at schools, I visited 

the Inclusion Unit at Dunfermline High School. Here 

the determination is that disruptive and challenging 

1

children are not excluded but included and spend 

time within the Inclusion Unit. I was impressed by 

the youngsters whose lives are being turned around 

by the Unit, which is staffed, not by teachers but 

employees of Apex Scotland. As a result, school 

exclusions are down by 75% and there is real hope 

amongst the youngsters I see that they will get to 

college and go on to get a job. I am even more 

optimistic now that Includem, a Third Sector 

organisation that works with challenging young 

people, have joined the Dunfermline High School 

scheme in order to work with the youngsters outside 

of school hours. The scheme is being expanded to 

two other schools in Fife and I strongly support the 

efforts to make this concept of inclusion more 

widespread across Scotland.The value for money is 

very attractive: Dunfermline High School Inclusion 

Unit costs about £28,000 per year; compare this 

with the cost of a single prison place at around 

£32,000 4 . I hope this shows that efforts to reduce 

exclusion from school and to include challenging 

children should be supported. There is good work 

currently going on across Scottish Government, and 

within the Justice and Learning Directorate, to 

produce more positive outcomes in this area in the 

future, and I support these initiatives. 

My second example is a recent visit I made to the 

Spartans Community Football Academy in North 

Edinburgh, which opened in December 2008. This is a 

true community youth club, using football as the 

primary vehicle to attract in youngsters and to 

encourage them to participate and to socialise. The 

club’s vision is to provide the community of North 

Edinburgh with a community-inspired, developed and 

managed facility, to help develop people of all ages in 

sporting, social and life skills. They achieve this through 

the process of the youngsters agreeing to rules and 

boundaries, by using football coaches as life coaches 

and also as mentors and by helping the local primary 

schools to carry out their PE requirements. The 

difference the youth policy is making across the 

community is remarkable. This is a community youth 

club but it is making a difference in an extraordinary 

way. They told me they visited community clubs in 

Sweden, Denmark and Germany where facilities similar 

to the Academy are part of the local communities. 

Lessons learned from these visits have been adopted by 

Spartans. It was clear to me that Spartans is a project 

that is welcoming in young people from areas of risk 

and is proving to be very successful and it may provide a 

good model for Scotland. I have met young people from 

the Club whose lives of offending behaviour have been 

turned around and who are now in either full or 

part-time employment. 

Both these projects, like so many in Scotland, need 

financial support from charitable trusts. I would like to 

pay tribute to The Robertson Trust, in particular, who 

help finance both projects and I also compliment 

charitable trusts in general for the good they do by 

funding Third Sector organisations to deliver a range 

of projects that I see inside and outside prison. 

Opportunities to participate in sport at HMYOI Polmont 

4 The average cost per prisoner place in 2011/12 was £32,371. SPS 

Annual Report and Accounts 

Young Offenders – Young Offenders in HMP and 

YOI Cornton Vale 

2

In the past in Scotland it may be that we have failed 

to grasp the opportunities provided by a strong 

sports ethos, although there are considerable efforts 

being made to improve this. The advantages in the 

context of offending are not just about social 

inclusion, role models and understanding 

boundaries; there is also the connection with 

improved health, based on well-taught and regular 

physical education. For example, Sir Harry Burns, the 

Chief Medical Officer, is keen to encourage the 

assets-based approach to people’s health which 

focuses on behaviours and influences and also the 

social factors which impact on peoples’ health and 

wellbeing, especially in their early lives. I support the 

efforts being made to enthuse our children about 

sport as well as the ‘Active Schools’ programme 

which aims to get school children more active more 

often, using activities such as dance and the martial 

arts. I have visited sportscotland; the national 

agency for developing sport in Scotland dedicated to 

helping increase participation and improve 

performance in sport. There is no doubt that there is 

considerable work going on, alongside sports clubs, 

to provide new opportunities for children and young 

people to play sport, although much of the emphasis 

is taking place outside of the education system. 

And it’s not just sport. The effect of the Big Noise 

Orchestra in the Raploch Estate in Stirling, where 

primary school children learn to play and co-operate 

with each other in the orchestra is very positive 

indeed. This is having a remarkable affect on the 

children as they grow up, as well as on parental 

attitudes. Youth movements such as the Scouts, 

Guides, Boys Brigade and the Cadet Forces provide 

the interest, activities, role models, values and 

standards that are often not as well resourced in 

those areas with high levels of offending. I have seen 

Operation Youth Advantage+, an organisation which 

supports vulnerable youth: those on the cusp of 

crime, the disadvantaged and the disengaged, 

working alongside community police and school 

authorities, co-ordinating opportunities for young 

people to take part in exciting outdoor activities 

using appropriately trained military instructors. All 

these youth activities and organisations help young 

people to grow up in a more structured and focused 

way and I hope these types of opportunities can be 

expanded. 

Inspection Year 2011-12 

The year has been marked by overcrowding in 

prisons, an unwelcome issue which has returned. 

Prison numbers reached a record 8,461 in March 

2012, up by 469 on the previous March. The 

numbers of prisoners on remand showed an 

increase and this gives cause for concern. In 1997, 

prisoners on remand were 15% of the total prison 

population. In 2011/12 the female remand 

population was 23% of the average daily prison 

population and the figure for male prisoners was 

19% 5 . Why is this a cause for concern? Firstly, 

because a significant percentage 6 of untried 

prisoners are subsequently not given a custodial 

sentence. Yet those people could serve, on average, 

one month in prison, which perhaps could lead 

them to losing their home and/or their job. The risks 

of offending on release can consequently be higher 

because housing and employment are the positive 

factors most likely to reduce the risks of offending. 

Is it possible that the use of remand is increasing 

re-offending rates rather than reducing them? 

Reception area – facilities for receiving prisoners at HMP 

Barlinnie 

Secondly, I have a concern that prisoners on remand 

have the poorest access to purposeful activity. In 

many prisons the main activities available to 

prisoners on remand are limited to family visits and 

exercise, including PE; remand prisoners are likely to 

have a lower priority for access to education, 

vocational training and work. 

5 Scottish Government analysis of SPS prison numbers. 

6 According to Scottish Government data linkage research and analysis 

of prisons data, about half of remand cases resulted in a custodial 

sentence. This figure is an estimate since remand prisoners may be 

released on bail at several points in the judicial process. 

3

A previous Inspectorate report, “Punishment First, 

Verdict Later”, published in December 1999 stated 

that: “given the presumption of innocence or their 

legal status as un-sentenced prisoners, we 

recommend that the conditions in which remand 

prisoners are held should be the best available in the 

relevant establishment.” Conditions have, of course, 

improved for all prisoners since 1999, particularly in 

those new or development prisons, however, the 

provision of activities for prisoners on remand still 

remains, in my view, poor. Indeed the plight of 

remand prisoners was commented on by Andrew 

McLellan, my predecessor as Chief Inspector, in his 

Annual Report of 2007-08: “Remand prisoners 

regularly live in the worst conditions and have the 

worst regime in any prison: ‘Innocent until proved 

guilty’, they are at the bottom of the heap – every 

convicted prisoner, however poor his or her 

conditions, however empty and frustrating his or her 

day, will be better off. No doubt this is another 

consequence of overcrowding, for there was a time, 

not so long ago, when the SPS sought to provide the 

best living conditions for remand prisoners.” 

Shotts prison is close to completion. It will be 

interesting to see how this new prison embraces new 

technology and new practices. Low Moss prison 

opened on 12 March 2012. The inspectorate visited 

Low Moss prior to the prison opening and we were 

impressed by the commitment that the Governor is 

giving to improving the quality of family access as 

well as access to activities. 

The way in – the modern entranceway to HMP Low Moss 

During another busy year I have carried out full 

inspections of Dumfries, Barlinnie and Kilmarnock, an 

unannounced follow-up inspection of Glenochil and 

a 2nd follow-up inspection of Cornton Vale. The 

Inspectorate has reported on all Legalised Police 

Cells. All of these are discussed in general below and 

in more detail in Chapter 2. During the reporting 

period we have also inspected all cells in Sheriff 

Courts and prisoner escort arrangements; this report 

has been published in the reporting year 2012/13. All 

our reports are available on our website at 

www.scotland.gov.uk/hmip. 

Residential Hall – where accommodation is provided at 

HMP Barlinnie 

This situation has not changed and I would like to 

see the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) give more 

attention to the way prisoners on remand are 

treated. Why is the priority of prisoners on remand in 

prison so low? In general, it is important to ask, why 

are the numbers so high? What is the effect of 

increasing the use of remand on re-offending rates? 

To what extent is pre-trial remand in custody used 

when the punishment does not necessarily warrant a 

custodial sentence? 

Holding cell – one of the cells used at Glasgow Sheriff 

Court 

4

In this section in last year’s report I made three 

comments that require to be commented on in this 

year’s annual report: 

• I posed the question as to how the Inspectorate 

would inspect the new NHS-run healthcare system 

in prisons. I can report that I use a professional 

healthcare inspector from Healthcare Improvement 

Scotland (HIS) and have done so since the NHS 

assumed responsibility for the provision of 

healthcare in November 2011. This new inspection 

system works well and I am grateful to HIS for the 

provision of such an able inspector. 

• I made specific comment about the welcome new 

builds at Shotts and Low Moss. I, and members 

of the Inspectorate have visited both prisons. I will 

be inspecting Shotts in March 2013. I will 

continue to visit Low Moss now that it is fully 

operational. The increased capacity that Low 

Moss provides has resulted in significant 

reductions in overcrowding, thus allowing for the 

sensible redeployment of prisoners. In general this 

has meant improved regimes at Barlinnie and 

Aberdeen prisons, meaning better access to 

purposeful activities and easier access for family 

visits. The Inspectorate will continue to monitor 

progress. 

• I also made specific comment about Prisoner 

Visitor Centres in this section and I provide more 

detail later. 

Health centre – the newly renovated healthcare facilities at 

HMP Dumfries 

Main Issues 

Women Offenders and Cornton Vale 

There has been a national focus on Women Offenders 

in Scotland throughout 2011-12. In 2009 I first 

inspected Cornton Vale and reported on the poor 

state of the prison. In 2010 I carried out my first 

follow-up inspection in order to gauge progress and 

reported on the prison, again, with a number of 

recommendations for improvement. At this point the 

Cabinet Secretary for Justice announced that a 

Commission on Women Offenders, led by Dame Elish 

Angiolini would look at the whole issue of female 

offending in Scotland. Dame Elish duly reported in 

April 2012. Because so little progress had been made 

by 2010, I re-inspected the prison in January 2012. 

Bike repairs – one of the practical skills taught in 

workshops held at HMP and YOI Cornton Vale 

In Cornton Vale I had previously reported that access to 

purposeful activity was very poor, with only 35% of 

prisoners being out of their cells at any one time. I had 

also been critical of disgracefully poor access to toilet 

facilities in Bruce and Younger Houses. In last year’s 

Annual Report I said of Cornton Vale: “Consequently the 

dignity, safety, infection control, mental health and 

general health issues are even more stark than in 2009.” 

Overcrowding was one of the principle factors in this 

situation. There was a population of around 400 and a 

‘design capacity’, set by the SPS of 375, yet I considered 

that the population needed to be no more than 300 7 . 

Another major factor was that Cornton Vale was failing 

to attract sufficient investment priority, hence why I also 

reported that: “I felt that there had been insufficient 

strategic direction from SPS HQ and there remains a 

need for improved and strong national and local 

leadership to deal with the shocking and challenging 

issues in the prison.” 

7 HMIP report dated 14 April 2011 

5

Crucially, as a result of my 2010 Report on the 

follow-up inspection, the SPS transferred 

114 prisoners from Cornton Vale to Ratho Hall in 

Edinburgh. This was a sensible move in order to 

reduce the overcrowding at the prison. So, when I 

inspected Cornton Vale for the 3rd time in January 

2012, I expected to see extensive progress. In the 

report of that third inspection, I praised the 

considerable planning and logistical effort to move 

the 114 female prisoners to Edinburgh which also 

required a considerable movement of male prisoners 

to other prisons. 

Cornton Vale – Dumyat – Newly opened Separation and 

Reintegration Unit, HMP and YOI Cornton Vale 

Nevertheless, progress has been slow and this 

highlights for me the poor strategic leadership and 

direction shown by the SPS Board in giving sufficient 

focus, priority and support to the prison. After the 

2009 Inspection, I had recommended that: 

The essentials – a wide range of toiletries are available to 

buy in the shop at HMP and YOI Cornton Vale 

The Third Report on Cornton Vale is a much more 

positive report. At last I have seen progress in terms 

of access to activities with 68% of women attending 

work, education or being engaged in programmes. 

Issues such as access to toilet facilities have largely 

been resolved. I have also seen work commence on a 

new ‘Separation and Re-integration Unit’, something 

I have been calling for since 2009. This unit should 

not only ensure that difficult prisoners can be treated 

better in greatly improved conditions, but also 

produce a more stable regime across the prison, thus 

providing a positive impact on other prisoners. 

“Female prisoners should have a focus at SPS Board 

level, with a view to setting the agenda for the 

future and ensuring such an agenda is implemented 

quickly and with purpose.” 

I was gratified to read that the Commission on 

Women Offenders came to the same conclusion that 

I had and made precisely the same recommendation. 

I very much hope that we can now see real strategic 

and local leadership given to Cornton Vale in 

particular, and to the imprisonment of female 

offenders in general. Such leadership and priority will 

be required during the next few years as new 

facilities are built and Cornton Vale closes. During 

this period standards at the prison must certainly not 

regress and must continue to improve. The 

conditions at Cornton Vale were a cause for shame; 

never again must such a situation exist. 

Access to Purposeful Activity 

My view is that ‘purposeful activity’ is any activity 

which, during the working day, encourages the 

process of improvement. This includes work, 

vocational training, education and programmes to 

address offending behaviour (such as addictions), 

access to PE and visits. If prisoners are not engaged 

in such activity, they are most likely locked in their 

cells and this I deem not to be purposeful activity. 

6

Vocational training at HMP Dumfries – in a British Institute 

of Cleaning Science (BICS) training workshop 

My opinion is that access to activities is a vital part of 

the rehabilitation process. If prisoners, including 

those untried or un-sentenced prisoners on remand, 

are not participating in purposeful activities during 

the day, there is much less likelihood of them being 

prepared for release back in to the community. If 

Scotland is to reduce re-offending, then prisoners 

need as much access to purposeful activities as 

possible. 

Last year I reported that the activity situation in 

Scotland’s prisons is not as good as it should be. On 

average, in SPS-run prisons, less than 50% of 

prisoners were out at purposeful activity, with the 

figure for Cornton Vale being only 35%. I particularly 

commented that: “it is usually those on remand or 

serving short-term sentences who lose out.” I also 

made specific reference to Glenochil where the 

arrival of sex offenders from Peterhead had 

complicated the regime, further reducing access to 

purposeful activities. 

This year I have re-inspected both prisons. Due to the 

sensible reduction in the population at Cornton Vale, 

there has been a good improvement in the access-topurposeful-activities 

figure. When I re-inspected 

Cornton Vale in 2012, some 68% of prisoners had 

access to purposeful activities, which is significant 

progress, although I was unhappy with the poor 

access to education for prisoners on remand 8 . The 

situation has still not improved in Glenochil, although 

the greater capacity provided by the new Low Moss 

prison, may assist the Governor and I will re-visit the 

prison to report on this before 2013/14. 

I have also inspected Dumfries in this reporting year; 

I found a similarly poor picture with only 39% of 

prisoners having access to purposeful activity 9 . 

I inspected Kilmarnock in April 2011 and found 

that “out-of-cell activities are limited and lack 

stimulation”. Only 40% of prisoners were out of the 

house blocks during the day. 

Vocational training at HMP Barlinnie – where skills such as 

joinery can be learned 

Barlinnie was coping with a very large population 

when we inspected it in May 2011. I reported that, 

although most of the work places are of high 

quality, too many prisoners are locked in cells 

instead of being engaged in purposeful activity. This 

situation should improve as a result of the opening 

of Low Moss and a reduction in the population at 

Barlinnie. 

Textiles – A textile workshop in HMP Kilmarnock 

8 HMIP Report dated April 2012 

9 HMIP Report dated December 2011 

7

Overcrowding is a factor and it is certainly true that 

our prisons, as I discuss below, are coping with too 

many prisoners. I strongly endorse the work of the 

2008 Prisons Commission which recommended a 

maximum prison population of 5,000. Currently 

Scotland’s prisons are coping with record numbers of 

prisoners and this is bound to affect the access to 

purposeful activity figures. 

However, it is my view that the prison population 

figures have been consistently high now for some 

years and the SPS should be more able to cope with 

these numbers in a more satisfactory way. If a major 

part of imprisonment is the emphasis on 

rehabilitation then perhaps a much larger proportion 

of prisoners should have access to activities? Should 

short-term and remand prisoners not have greater 

access to activities in order to try to reduce 

re-offending? There is a view that prisoners not 

accessing purposeful activity are merely being 

‘warehoused’ and one might conclude they are 

purely serving the ‘punishment’ aspect of their 

sentence. I continue to recommend that 

rehabilitation and improvement be given a higher 

priority. 

What is the way forward? In many respects it would 

be correct to state that the SPS have insufficient 

resources to cope with the number of prisoners and 

with the ever-increasing proportion of remand and 

short-term prisoners. If this is the case, I have not 

seen what the SPS consider to be an acceptable 

percentage of prisoners engaging in activities, nor 

have I seen what the costs would be to achieve that. 

I believe that the SPS Board should commission such 

work in order to set a strategy to increase access to 

activities. It is also possible that improved 

‘timetabling’ could increase the proportion of 

prisoners provided with purposeful activities. In this 

regard I have taken notice of the computerised 

prisoner management system used by Addiewell. It 

may be that such systems can make a contribution to 

improving the percentage of prisoners engaged in 

purposeful activities. 

Life Skills – Training in the kitchen is a useful and practical 

way to spend time at HMP and YOI Cornton Vale 

Learning Centre – The Learning Centre at HMP Barlinnie 

I conclude this section by stating that the current 

poor access to purposeful activities is not acceptable 

and contributes to a negative picture when 

considering whether prison is working. Ways and 

means require to be found to improve access to 

work, vocational training and education. 

8

Family Access 

Visitors Centre – The Croft Visitor Centre near 


I see family access as being very important in two 

vital areas. Firstly, to ensure the best possible 

rehabilitation of the prisoner back in to the 

community. Secondly, to ensure that families are 

supported and advised in the best possible way both 

in terms of their own situation and also with regard 

to the prisoner’s rehabilitation. If both of these areas 

are effective then the chances of success are 

enhanced. In terms of rehabilitation, I believe that 

family access to Integrated Case Management (ICM) 

case conferences is a positive step forward as it 

allows the family to better understand the prisoner’s 

situation and also their needs on their return to the 

community. I continue to support efforts to increase 

both the family attendance at such conferences and 

their quality. 

The overall picture of family access is variable. In 

some ‘community facing’ prisons, family access can 

be excellent as journeys are shorter and therefore 

cheaper and easier. For those prisons which serve the 

whole of Scotland (Glenochil, Polmont, the Open 

Estate, Shotts National Induction Centre and Cornton 

Vale), access can be much more challenging. Many 

families have long distances to travel, often by public 

transport and this makes regular visits expensive and 

time consuming. Visits with children may often only 

be able to take place at weekends and this can also 

be stressful and challenging. Prisoner families are 

also serving the sentence. 

For all of these reasons and many more, it has been 

my view for three years now that each prison should 

have a Prisoner Visitor Centre to provide support and 

advice for prisoner families both on arrival for a visit 

and also prior to the trip home. The Visitor Centres 

at Edinburgh, Kilmarnock and Perth prisons are very 

good examples of how prisoner families can be 

supported in the way that I envisage. These centres 

are run using Third Sector income, although the 

provision and maintenance of the building requires 

support from the prison. Unfortunately, SPS has not 

been proactive in terms of the provision of further 

Centres. In my opinion, the prisons that require a 

Visitor Centre the most are the national facilities at 

Cornton Vale, Glenochil, Shotts and Polmont. 

The example of Cornton Vale shows the extent of 

the struggle to obtain a Visitor Centre there. Fife and 

Forth Valley Criminal Justice Authority and 

CrossReach, and other organisations have offered to 

open a Visitor Centre at the prison for some months, 

yet they have received little encouragement or help 

from the SPS, even though there is a suitable prison 

building almost ready for use. I am much more 

optimistic now that it has been agreed by the SPS 

that a Visitor Centre will be provided at Cornton Vale 

as a direct result of the recommendations from the 

Women’s Commission. This change in approach is 

greatly welcomed. A good news story is that a new 

Visitor Centre has opened at Barlinnie because the 

prison has been supportive of the community and 

Third Sector determination to open one. This shows 

that progress is possible and I hope that we will see 

further progress at other prisons. 

Visitor Centre – The Opening of the Croft Visitor Centre 

near Barlinnie, which will provide services to the families 

of prisoners 

9

However, if the prize is not only improved family 

access but, eventually, improved family involvement 

in ICM case conferences, then Visitor Centres need 

to become more joined-up ‘Help Centres’ ticking all 

the boxes for families: housing, travel to prison, 

advice on health and other issues such as children’s 

learning difficulties. Working with Link Centres and 

ICM co-ordinators inside prisons, these Centres could 

greatly advance the quality of family involvement. I 

think that such ‘Help Centres’ are the way ahead in 

Scotland, but there will need to be enthusiastic 

support from the SPS. 

At the prisons I have inspected this year, a proper 

Visitor Centre would have greatly improved the 

quality of family access: 

• Glenochil desperately needs such a facility due to 

the very poor transport links to the prison. As I 

have reported before, a building outside the 

prison entrance had been available but was 

demolished during the rebuild of the prison. I 

continue to question how such a decision was 

taken, to demolish a perfectly good and useable 

facility. Family involvement at ICM conferences at 

Glenochil is insufficiently good. 

Visit Room – The Visit Room at HMP Dumfries 

• Kilmarnock has a small Centre. It is a useful place 

for visitors to book in and does good work but 

would benefit from further development. Family 

involvement at Kilmarnock in ICM conferences is 

low at only 13%; this could be improved if Family 

Contact Officers (FCOs) and ICM co-ordinators 

worked together to persuade both families and 

prisoners of the merits of such involvement. 

Visitors Centre – The Visitor Centre at HMP Kilmarnock 

Visits – The Visit Room at HMP Glenochil 

• Dumfries has limited space for a Centre, but, 

given its mixture of population and standing as a 

national facility for sex offenders it requires a 

small facility for visitors, many of whom may have 

travelled some distance. 

• I have often commented about the poor facilities 

for visits at Cornton Vale, but commended FCOs. 

It continues to be my view that Cornton Vale, 

above all other prisons requires a Visitor Centre. 

In summary, whilst there are areas of good practice 

in terms of family access, I believe there is much to 

be done to transform the way families are welcomed 

to prisons and included in prisoners’ progression and 

development. As I have already commented, I have 

noticed a ‘wind of change’ blowing at SPS 

Headquarters. I hope that this situation will now 

rapidly improve. 

High quality visiting facilities are important to ensure links are kept between prisoners and their families. These are 

good practice examples from three of Scotland’s prisons. 

10

Preparation for Release 

Preparation for release should, in my view, be at the 

very centre of prison activity; it is a main reason why 

the State sends offenders to prison so that on 

release they can take their place in society with the 

very best chances of success. 

Liberation is often not well done. Too often prisoners 

are still liberated directly from the prison gate with all 

the consequences that follow. This particularly 

affects short-term prisoners, the very prisoners who 

have not received the best preparation for 

reintegration back in to the community. I have seen 

excellent examples of good practice whereby 

prisoners are mentored prior to and after release, 

ensuring that they meet their initial appointments in 

the community and settle in to the rhythm of life 

with support. 

Access to purposeful activity is also an essential part 

of the preparation process, as how else are offenders 

able to pick up the tools to ensure they can cope 

with the daily necessities of life such as housing and 

employment? 

The Links Centre resource is an example of good 

practice within the SPS, for it is there and in the 

majority of prisons that such realities can be 

accessed. In these centres there are normally 

excellent links with local authorities and job centres. 

In terms of preparing prisoners for release, one of the 

most valuable assets within the SPS are Residential 

Officers. It is essential, in my view, that these officers 

are properly trained as Personal Officers 10 so that they 

can mentor prisoners to engage in preparation for 

release, including the ICM and prison progression 

processes. Although some prisons use the Personal 

Officer scheme well, I feel that there has been little 

progress on this resource and I have regularly 

commented on how poorly the Scheme works. Given 

the cost of Residential Officers, this unfortunate 

situation represents poor value for money in my 

opinion. As I write this, there is still no job description 

or training for such officers. The Personal Officer 

Scheme 11 , if well designed and implemented, could 

make a significant difference to how prisoners are 

mentored and prepared for reintegration. I 

recommend that the SPS Board urgently reviews the 

scheme and takes action to improve it. 

The Links Centre – providing facilities at HMP Addiewell to 

prepare prisoners for release 

Routes Out Of Prison (ROOP) and Circle are good 

examples of organisations ensuring that individuals 

have the connections and the confidence to cope 

with a vastly different situation. In 2011/12, 14,387 

prisoners were liberated from prison, with the 

majority of these serving shorter sentences. The 

significant volume of liberations means that the SPS 

and local authorities cannot possibly ensure that 

every liberated prisoner is treated and mentored in 

such a way. Nevertheless, I suggest that the 

‘throughcare’ of prisoners released back in to 

communities needs to improve and I hope that work 

is done to develop current liberation and throughcare 

practices. 

Recreation – D Hall, HMP Barlinnie 

10 The Personal Officer Scheme 

11 According to the SPS Job Description for a Residential Officer dated 

1 September 2011, one of the Major Tasks of Residential Officers 

is to undertake the duties of Personal Officer, “ensuring positive 

engagement with allocated prisoners and accurate maintenance of 

records”. These duties include prisoner liaison, supporting prisoners at 

ICM case conferences and liaising with the prisoner prior to release. 

11

Way Forward 

In this report I have addressed those issues at the top 

of the Inspectorate’s priority list: 

Firstly, to seek to improve the treatment and 

conditions for female offenders. Improvement is 

slow, but the reduction in the number of prisoners in 

Cornton Vale and the creation of a proper Separation 

and Re-integration Unit there is beginning to change 

the situation at the prison. Equally, I am optimistic 

that acceptance of the recommendations of the 

Commission on Women Offenders will bring about a 

strategic change in the way female offenders are 

managed in Scotland. 

Secondly, to facilitate the introduction of Prisoner 

Visitor Centres. Again progress is slow, but I am 

encouraged by the new Visitor Centre at Barlinnie 

and by the promise of another at Addiewell. I hope 

that this will encourage other prisons and 

communities to set up new Visitor Centres. I am 

greatly encouraged by the change of approach by 

SPS Headquarters with regards to Visitor Centres. 

Thirdly, to seek improved prisoner access to 

purposeful activity. Here, I am less optimistic as the 

figures are bleak. But, as I have tried to demonstrate, 

improvements can be made through better 

management and by more effective and rigorous 

‘timetabling’. 

Fourthly, to better prepare prisoners for release. 

There is still much to be done here, particularly in 

coordinating action for individual prisoners using 

Personal Officers. 

Other Issues and Challenges Ahead 

Sex Offenders 

During this year I inspected Dumfries Prison which 

has a significant population of long-term sex 

offenders. Because many of these prisoners deny 

their offending behaviour, they are unable to engage 

in the sex offender programmes available elsewhere. 

I quote from the Dumfries inspection report: “this 

policy puts the prisoners at Dumfries in a penal ‘cul 

de sac’ because there is little hope of progression. 

The risks of this policy are high because when such 

offenders are eventually released they are unlikely to 

have received the offence focused interventions; nor 

will they have been tested in less secure conditions 

prior to release.” 

Delivery of Good Practice 

Last year I encouraged the SPS to improve the way it 

passes on ‘Good Practice’. This could be widened to 

become a ‘Lessons Learned’ process that 

encompasses not just good practice but areas where 

improvements could be made as well. 

The Links Centre – providing facilities at HMP Low Moss to 

prepare prisoners for release. 

Use of Video Courts 

Ever since my first inspection of Cornton Vale in 

2009, I have been calling for greater use of TV link 

technology for pre-trial hearings. Progress is ongoing 

and I hope that a trial project can be run in the 

Highlands in order to reduce the sometimes wasteful 

and lengthy journeys prisoners are forced to 

undertake. The use of technology of this type should 

be encouraged and SPS should look at ways to 

expand it to include the facilitation of visits between 

prisoners and their legal agents and, where visits in 

person are difficult due to distance or illness, with 

their families and friends. 

Summary 

The Inspectorate has taken on a number of 

challenges and I can report that considerable 

improvements have been made. The arrival of a new 

Chief Executive of the SPS in May 2012 heralds a 

new approach in the leadership and management of 

the Service and I am optimistic that real 

transformational change can now take place. 

HUGH MONRO CBE 


15 August 2012 

12

2. SUMMARY OF INSPECTIONS UNDERTAKEN 

Establishments 


Full inspection 4-12 April 2011 

Summary 

The prison is clean although the cells are showing 

distinct signs of wear and tear. The dormitories are 

too small for the number of prisoners living in 

them. 

The prison does a good job in keeping different 

categories of prisoners separate. Admission 

procedures in Reception are inadequate. The 

Suicide Risk Management arrangements are very 

good and the Listeners Scheme is working well. 

The management of risk is handled extremely 

effectively. 

Relationships between prisoners and staff are 

good but inspectors were concerned that some 

staff regularly use nicknames which could be 

interpreted as being derogatory. There is no job 

specific training for staff working with noncompliant 

sex offenders. 

The visits room is bright, spacious and welcoming, 

and an excellent range of information is available 

to visitors in this area. Visitors say that they are 

treated with respect by staff. 

Most prisoners know what they are entitled to. 

The disciplinary procedures are operating to a 

good standard and there is little use of Rule 94 to 

segregate prisoners. Complaint processes are 

operating fairly and in a transparent fashion. 

Prisoners have good access to learning, skills and 

employability opportunities and report positively 

on their experiences within LSE. However, there is 

a limited range of vocational and educational 

qualifications available and links between and 

amongst employability, vocational and educational 

activities are not sufficiently strong and effective. 

At the time of the inspection healthcare services 

were operating under the difficult conditions of 

providing all clinical services from one single room 

due to an upgrading and refurbishment of the 

Health Centre. This, along with staff shortages has 

restricted the delivery of healthcare services. 

Prisoners did not have access to a mental health 

nurse. Waiting times for dental treatment far 

exceed those in the community. Despite this, the 

remaining healthcare provision is comparable with 

that in the community and is responsive to 

prisoners’ needs. 

The Integrated Case Management processes work 

very well. A number of prisoners have been 

assessed as requiring intensive programmes to 

address serious offending behaviour, but the 

prison does not run these programmes and there 

are difficulties in accessing them in other prisons. 

Progression for the majority of long-term sex 

offenders is difficult. The prison has developed an 

impressive range of contacts with community 

agencies. 

Recommendations 

For SPS Headquarters 

The SPS should develop a national sex offender 

strategy. 

Ways should be found to progress prisoners who 

have been assessed as requiring the Violence 

Prevention Programme and the Good Lives 

Programme so that they can receive them. 

For the Establishment 

The security fence around the sports pitch should 

be improved to allow prisoners to use this pitch 

and allow more prisoners to access the garden. 

The reception area should be re-designed to 

facilitate a proper reception process. 

The role of the Family Contact Officer should be 

given a higher priority. 

Ways should be found to support officers who 

have to deal with complaints and requests under 

Freedom of Information legislation from Dumfries 

prisoners. 

The processes for the Risk Management Group 

and Multi Disciplinary Progression Management 

Group meeting should be reviewed and brought 

up to the required standards. 

Given the complexity and level of potential risk 

presented by the long-term sex offender 

population, the parole and prisoner case 

management functions should be properly 

resourced. 

13

Good Practice 

A good succession planning process ensures that 

new Listeners are trained in good time to fill 

anticipated vacancies. 

A high proportion of staff on night duty are 

trained in first aid. 

Information to support transitional and post 

training of officers is available through the 

SharePoint site. 

The arrangements for dealing with unmarked 

privileged correspondence. 

The inclusion of both short-term and remand 

prisoners in educational activities. 

The BICS programme. 

The use of video conferencing for Integrated Case 

Management Case Conferences. 

The Citizens Advice Bureau and housing 

authorities liaise to ensure that tenancies are often 

held open in the early stages of Home Detention 

Curfew assessment. 

Preparation for release from prisoners on Home 

Detention Curfew. 

A group of residential officers are trained in risk 

and assessment and can complete SA07 risk 

assessment for sex offenders as part of the parole 

process. 

The long-term prisoner pre-release programme. 


Full inspection 23-31 May 2011 

Summary 

This was a full, announced inspection looking at 

all aspects of the prison. The focus was on the 

conditions in which prisoners live and on the way 

prisoners are treated. 

The accommodation is clean, and the basic 

necessities are met. The food at the points of 

serving is not as good as at the point of cooking. 

Some of the clothing issued to prisoners, 

particularly denim trousers, needs to be improved. 

The prison is safe in terms of levels of violence and 

appropriate steps are taken to protect prisoners 

from harming themselves. The First Night in 

Custody Centre is an excellent initiative and 

arrangements for induction are very good. 

However, the ‘safer cells’ are not up to standard 

and the prison needs a new Reception facility. 

Relationships between staff and prisoners are 

good. 

The quality of visits is good and the visits room is 

an excellent facility. However, visitors sometimes 

have to wait too long between booking in for a 

visit and the visit starting. Great care is taken to 

bring families into the prison for specially designed 

events and good links with community-based 

organisations help facilitate this. 

Most prisoners know what they are entitled to. 

The disciplinary procedures are operating to a 

good standard and there is limited use of Rule 94 

to segregate prisoners. The complaints process is 

accessible, fair and transparent. 

A good range of educational and vocational 

activity is available and the quality of provision is 

very good. However, there is very little available 

for long-term prisoners. The Learning Centre and 

the gym are not fit for purpose, and the Activity 

Centre is unattractive. 

A Primary Healthcare Service is being delivered 

which is equivalent to that in the community. An 

excellent Day Care Centre has been created for 

prisoners with high dependency needs. A 

comprehensive addictions service is being delivered. 

The Health Centre itself is not fit for purpose. 

14

The Integrated Case Management processes and 

Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements 

work very well. The prison is actively involved with 

community based organisations with a focus on 

engaging prisoners, developing skills and 

addressing needs and issues. The Links Centre 

works very well, and arrangements for preparing 

prisoners for release are very good. 


For SPS Headquarters 

In the light of Low Moss opening in 2012, SPS 

should review the long-term future of Barlinnie 

and then plan and implement the re-development 

of the prison as soon as possible. 

Given the poor physical conditions and the large 

number of prisoner movements, a new Reception 

facility should be created as a matter of priority. 

Child protection training for SPS staff should be 

provided. 


The ‘safer cells’ in ‘C’ Hall should be upgraded to 

full ‘anti-ligature cells’. 

The time between visitors booking in for a visit 

and the visit starting should be reduced. 

Management should consider alternative methods 

for a greater number of prisoners to access 

purposeful activity. 

The processes for Risk Management Team 

meetings should be improved. 

Arrangements should be put in place to transfer 

long-term prisoners to a long-term establishment 

as soon as possible, so that they can access 

purposeful activities more readily. Suitable 

arrangements for the provision of work and 

interventions for this group should be made for as 

long as they are held in Barlinnie. 

Good Practice 

A booklet has been produced showing pictures of 

canteen items, with the goods being described in 

10 different languages. 

There are several information DVDs in different 

languages along with a TV and DVD player for 

prisoners to use in their cells in the First Night in 

Custody Centre. 

The operation of the First Night in Custody Centre. 

The PowerPoint presentation used during induction. 

The induction documents with Frequently Asked 

Questions and common phrases translated into 

nine different languages. 

The weekly audits of the ACT process, paperwork, 

assessments, quality of information recorded and 

care planning. 

The arrangements for development training for 

staff. 

The Positive Parenting Programme. 

The Chaplaincy run project ‘Faith in Throughcare’ 

which helps former prisoners with the transition 

from custody to community. The Chaplains hold 

family services twice a year in the prison. 

Complaints from prisoners are audited by the 

Deputy Governor and results are fed back through 

Unit Managers and First Line Managers. 

The opportunities for prisoners on the National 

Progression Award in Construction to develop 

vocational skills and gain self confidence. 

The Day Care Unit. 

The ‘Well Person Clinic’. 

The high levels of information sharing between the 

prison and the Strathclyde Police Force Offender 

Management Unit and a work experience exchange 

scheme between the two. 

The identification of a training need to address 

poor report writing skills and the provision of 

training through bespoke interventions from 

Strathclyde Caledonian University to address the 

lack of a Personal Officer Scheme. 

The ‘Partnership Meetings’ between communitybased 

organisations and the prison. 

The arrangements for preparing prisoners for 

release. 

15

HMP Kilmarnock 

Full inspection 26 September – 3 October 2011 

Summary 

The prison is safe in terms of levels of violence and 

the suicide risk-management processes work well. 

The allocation of prisoner security levels is fair and 

transparent. 

Prisoners are treated with respect for their dignity 

at all times. 

The living accommodation is clean and the fabric 

and fittings are in a good condition. Prisoners, 

except prisoners on protection, have access to one 

hour of exercise in the fresh air. The catering 

arrangements and the arrangements for issuing 

clothing and bedding are also good. 

Relationships between staff and prisoners are, in 

general, good. Staff usually address prisoners by 

their first name. Mutual respect was observed 

during reception, searches, escorting and visits, 

and in the Links Centre, Multi-Faith Centre and 

Learning Centre. 

The prison puts a lot of effort into providing goodquality 

visits and a number of initiatives for 

families and prisoners are in place and are given a 

high priority. The visitors check-in centre and the 

visits room provide a welcoming environment. 

Prisoners often get more than their visits 

entitlement. Visitors are well treated by staff. 

The complaints system and disciplinary procedures 

are working effectively and prisoners have access 

to a range of legal texts, Human Rights texts and 

Prison Rules. There was no evidence of racial or 

disability discrimination by staff towards prisoners. 

Out-of-cell activities are limited and lack 

stimulation. Although there is an entrepreneurial 

approach in workshop production areas, too few 

prisoners attend these workshops and there are 

too few vocational training programmes. Too few 

prisoners attend education and the educational 

facility is under-utilised. The standard of pastoral 

care is excellent. 

A Doctor’s clinic takes place six days a week, 

although appointments are often cancelled at 

short notice with no reason given. 

The prison has developed an excellent range of 

links with community-based organisations to help 

prisoners reintegrate back into the community. 

The arrangements for managing risk in relation to 

reintegration are also very good. 



HRAT should be reviewed and the sharing of best 

practice should be further developed to ensure 

that prisoners transferring from public to private 

prisons, or vice versa, experience no difference in 

terms of standards of care or treatment. 

The number of prisoners attending production 

workshops and vocational training programmes 

should be increased. 

The number of prisoners attending education 

should be increased. 

A review of accommodation and associated 

facilities for programme delivery should be 

undertaken. 

Management should consider the introduction of 

a multi-disciplinary system for the management of 

prisoners deemed to be at risk of self-harm. 

Clinical treatment should stop immediately in the 

medical room in house Block 1. 

A system should be introduced immediately to 

ensure all prisoners on Methadone are tested 

regularly. 

A community-based provider should confirm that a 

prisoner is on Methadone before it is commenced 

in the prison, and a support package should be in 

place before commencing a prisoner on 

Methadone. 

The SPS video and information package aimed at 

prisoners progressing to the Open estate should 

be made available to Kilmarnock. 

Additional training in report writing should be 

considered for Personal Officers, and thereafter a 

quality assurance system put in place to ensure 

improved standards are maintained. 

16

Good Practice 

All night staff are first-aid trained. 

The Prisoner Supervision System Boards. 

The ongoing programme of cleaning and 

maintenance. 

The training kitchen. 

Remand prisoners can order their meal the day 

before. 

Catering staff visit the halls when meals are being 

served and record the temperature of the food at 

time of eating. 

Staff development training. 

The visits experience. 

The approach adopted by PE staff. 

The standard of pastoral care, the facilities in 

which prisoners can worship and the level of 

purposeful activity within the Multi-Faith Centre. 

The self-help and guided help workbooks for 

prisoners with low mood and depression, sleep 

problems and self-harm. 

The alcohol awareness courses carried out by the 

Addictions Team. 

The Smoking Cessation Services provided by NHS 

Ayrshire and Arran. 

The Family Strategy includes actions required, 

target dates and progress against each key area. 

The protocol for dealing with people who are on a 

Home Detention Curfew who just turn up at the 

gate to hand themselves in. 

HMP Glenochil 

Follow Up inspection 22-24 November 2011 

Summary 

The inspection of Glenochil was carried out 

18 months after the full inspection, which had 

taken place in April/May 2010. The purpose of the 

inspection was to follow up areas of concern and 

areas of good practice. 

In general, there has been fair progress since the 

main inspection. Good practice has largely 

continued and been further developed in some 

instances. Many of the recommendations and 

action points originally made in the full inspection, 

have been taken forward. 

Glenochil has improved the provision of library 

facilities. It has created a full-time Family Contact 

Officer post but still requires a Family Visitor 

Centre and to make more progress in providing 

support to families visiting Glenochil. 

In October 2010, 150 sex offenders were 

transferred from HMP Peterhead to Glenochil. 

Inevitably, the requirement to separate these 

prisoners from other prisoners complicated the 

regime. 

Overcrowding has become more acute since the 

original inspection and access to purposeful 

activity would benefit from being improved. 

Glenochil continues to need to improve access to 

purposeful activity, including programmes to 

address offending behaviour. 

The role of the Personal Officer should be clarified 

and appropriate training and support provided. 

The standard of record keeping, accuracy and 

attention to detail in relation to the management 

of Integrated Case Management. 

The action plans contained in the Family Strategy. 

17

HMP and YOI Cornton Vale 

Follow Up inspection 

30 January – 2 February 2012 

Summary 

The follow-up inspection of HMP and YOI Cornton 

Vale was carried out two-and-a half years after a 

full inspection and one year after a follow-up 

inspection. 

The purpose of the inspection was to follow up on 

areas of concern as well as good practice. It 

focussed on progress made in relation to those 

Recommendations and Action points where no 

satisfactory progress had been made at the time 

of the first follow-up inspection carried out in 

February 2011. 

Unsatisfactory progress has been made in taking 

forward around one-third of the Recommendations 

and Action points outlined in the previous followup 

inspection report. 

Following the publication of the February 2011 

follow-up inspection, SPS transferred 114 female 

prisoners from Cornton Vale to Ratho Hall in HMP 

Edinburgh. As a result of this, at the time of the 

follow-up inspection, the total population at 

Cornton Vale stood at 280, which is in accordance 

with a previous inspection recommendation that 

the population be reduced to below 300. The SPS 

Board, and staff at Cornton Vale, HMP Edinburgh 

and other prisons, such as Addiewell, have worked 

hard to achieve this positive change. 

Staff morale seemed much improved. 

How prisoners are treated has improved through a 

reduction in numbers of women held at Cornton 

Vale and by an increase in resources. An example 

is much improved access to toilet facilities during 

periods of lock up. 

Cornton Vale has introduced a ‘First Night Custody 

Unit’. This has contributed to a reduced need to 

move prisoners around the prison. The 

atmosphere is therefore calmer and more stable. 

Access to purposeful activity has improved, rising 

from 35% of prisoners being out of their cell 

during the day, at the time of previous inspections, 

to 68%. The sense of boredom has greatly been 

reduced. 

Provision for prisoners with mental health 

problems has improved through better, more 

personalised, Care Plans, the availability of more 

psychology and other interventions. Improvements 

have been made in Healthcare more generally. 

However, for some women with complex mental 

health needs, being located at more appropriate 

facilities is preferable. 

The fabric of the prison needs to be improved, e.g. 

Bruce and Pebbles House, the Health Centre, the 

visits area and the outdoor exercise area. 

Cornton Vale does not have a Prisoner Visitor 

Centre and current facilities for family visits are 

very poor. 

Prisoners requiring to be separated from the main 

prison population are held on a temporary basis in 

‘silent cells’ in Younger House. The conditions are 

disgracefully poor and their use is inappropriate. 

On moral and health grounds these cells are 

unacceptable. Cornton Vale are building a new 

modular, Separation and Reintegration Unit, which 

should now be completed. 

Arrangements for women travelling to distant 

courts continue to be unsatisfactory. Court video 

links are not available. Opportunities to house 

prisoners who are in transit overnight in HMP 

Aberdeen or HMP Inverness are not considered on 

a case-by-case basis. Consequently, women are 

required to take long and uncomfortable journeys 

in order to attend court, often, for very short 

hearings. This continues to be a weakness. 

While some progress has been made, much more 

requires to be done to bring Cornton Vale up to an 

acceptable standard. HMIP will continue to 

regularly inspect, monitor, and report on the 

establishment. 

18


Legalised Police Cells 

Inspection 

March – September 2011 

Summary 

There are currently nine police stations in Scotland 

where police cells have been legalised. This means 

that prisoners – as opposed to those taken into 

police custody – can be detained in them for up to 

30 days. These cells are in police stations which 

are not near to prisons, where prisoners would 

otherwise be held. Currently there are legalised 

Police cells in Hawick, Kirkwall, Lerwick, 

Lochmaddy, Stornoway, Thurso, Campbeltown, 

Dunoon and Oban. 

Recommendation 

The legalised police cells in Lochmaddy, Thurso, 

Campbeltown, Dunoon and Oban be 

discontinued. 

Good Practice 

Prisoners are assessed for vulnerability on 

reception. 

There are good relationships between court, 

police and escort staff. 

Across the legalised police cells in Scotland a 

number of common issues have been identified. 

Prisoners are not always provided with an 

opportunity to exercise in the fresh air. 

Information on how to access the relevant Visiting 

Committee and how to make a complaint is not 

always available. 

Basic information notices are not always available. 

Toilets in cells are not screened. 

Conditions in which prisoners are 

transported and held in Sheriff and JP 

Courts while under escort 

Inspection, October 2010 – March 2012 

Summary 

This was an inspection of Scotland’s 58 Sheriff and 

JP courts, together with the treatment of prisoners 

under escort between court and prison. 

This was not an inspection of the escort 

contractors (Reliance or G4S), nor of the Scottish 

Prison Service or the Scottish Courts Service. It 

examined the collection of prisoners, and their 

delivery to, and reception into, court custody; the 

condition of cells and associated facilities; the 

general management of prisoners while in court 

custody; safety, administration, catering and 

medical provision and the onward transfer of 

prisoners after court hearings. 

Despite a number of logistical challenges including 

the large number of people attending court in the 

central belt and the need to travel to distant 

courts in the north and south west of Scotland, 

the escort service functions well. 

Relationships between escort staff and prisoners 

are generally good. Prisoners are well treated by 

staff. 

The cleanest custody cells are those where 

arrangements are in place for the police to charge 

those who damage cells. A number of custody 

suites do not have such a procedure in place. 

Where public scrutiny of prisoners occurs in certain 

locations, this is managed well by escort staff. 

Reception, infrastructure, facilities and processes 

vary between courts. Some require to be 

improved. 

Limited use is made of video technology for court 

appearances. Prisoners often need to be 

transported in uncomfortable vehicles large 

distances to attend remote courts for what are 

often very brief hearings. This is a weakness and a 

waste of both resources and time and does 

nothing to enhance justice. Prisoners who 

undertake such journeys are often not in a fit state 

to properly participate in the court proceedings 

19

that they are attending. This is especially the case 

for women prisoners being transported across 

Scotland from Cornton Vale. Women are often 

faced with being transported to and from distant 

courts in one day. 

Further detailed information on individual courts is 

available in the full report, which is available from 

the HMIP website. 


The Scottish Prison Service and Scottish Courts 

Service should work together to introduce video 

conferencing links to courts, and particularly 

distant courts, as soon as possible. Cornton Vale 

should be a priority in this area. 

Escort staff in all locations should be provided with 

the standardised induction. 

Police and custody contractors should work 

together to establish a protocol to charge those 

who damage cells, across the Scottish Courts 

Service estate. 

The Scottish Prison Service should ensure that all 

prisoners are given the opportunity to shower 

before travelling to court. 

Good Practice 

Remote courts in the Highlands and Islands face 

significant logistical difficulties. However, working 

arrangements between the various agencies 

(police, court and escort) in Lerwick, Kirkwall and 

Fort William, are examples of Good Practice. 

All escort staff are ‘first aid at work’ trained. This 

is above the minimum standard required. 

There is a standardised induction process for new 

escort staff. While this is positive not all areas 

provide this. 

Court-based escort managers strive to build very 

good working relationships between police, 

lawyers and court staff. 

20

3. REVIEW OF THE PRISON INSPECTORATE’S 

YEAR 2011-2012 

Inspections and Other Reports 

Inspections for the year were completed as follows. 

Full Inspections 

HMP Dumfries 4-12 April 2011 

HMP Barlinnie 23-31 May 2011 

HMP Kilmarnock 26 Sept-3 Oct 2011 

Follow-up Inspections 

HMP Glenochil 22-24 November 2011 

HMP & YOI Cornton Vale 30 Jan-2 Feb 2012 


Inspection of the October 2010-March 2012 

conditions in which 

prisoners are 

transported and held in 

Sheriff and JP courts 

while under escort, 

Legalised police cells, March-September 2011 

Submission to the Scottish Parliament 

The 2010-11 Annual Report was laid before the 

Scottish Parliament on 23 September 2011. 

HMIPS Staff – as at March 2012 

HMPS 

Brigadier Hugh Monro, HM Chief Inspector 

Margaret Brown, Deputy Chief Inspector 

Dr David McAllister, Assistant Chief Inspector 

Mick Armstrong, Inspector 

Dorothy Halliday, Personal Secretary 

Specialist and Associate Inspectors 


Dawn Ashworth, Associate Inspector 

Carol Stewart, Associate Healthcare Inspector 

Dr John Bowditch, Education Adviser, Education 

Scotland 

Peter McNaughton, Education Adviser, Education 


Juliet Fraser, Education Adviser (observer), Education 



John Carroll, Associate Inspector 

Adrian Clark, Associate Inspector 

Sandra Hands, Associate Healthcare Inspector 

Peter Connelly, Education Adviser, Education 


Donald Macleod, Education Adviser, Education 


HMP Kilmarnock 

John Carroll, Associate Inspector 

Adam Quin, Associate Inspector 

Lesley McDowall, Associate Healthcare Inspector 

Stewart Maxwell, Education Adviser, Education 


Andrew Brawley, Education Adviser, Education 


HMP Glenochil 

Adrian Clark, Associate Inspector 

Lesley MacDowell, Associate Healthcare Inspector 

David Thomson, Healthcare Inspector, Health 

Improvement Scotland 

Peter Connelly, Education Adviser, Education Scotland 

HMP & YOI Cornton Vale 

Juliet McAlpine, Education Adviser, Education 


David Thomson, Healthcare Inspector, Healthcare 

Improvement Scotland 

Tony Martin, Inspector 

Finance 

The Inspectorate’s costs for the year were as follows: 

Staff costs* £315,856.51 

Subsistence and motor mileage £17,106.34 

Printing and Binding £10,808.12 

Travel and Accommodation £7,901.16 

Hospitality £30.72 

Conference Fees £2,756.35 

Other running costs £3,965.86 

Total £358,425.06 

*No employees earned in excess of £150,000. 

Communications 

Recent reports can be found on our website 

(www.scotland.gov.uk/hmip). 

Email: hugh.monro@scotland.gsi.gov.uk 

Photographs courtesy of 

Dougie Barnett Photography. 

21

Photographs courtesy of Dougie Barnett Photography

© Crown copyright 2012 

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or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, 

visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ 

or e-mail: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk. 

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission 

from the copyright holders concerned. 

First published by the Scottish Government, September 2012 

ISBN: 978-1-78256-090-6 

eBook first published by the Scottish Government, September 2012 

ISBN 978-1-78256-110-1 (ePub) 

Kindle eBook first published by the Scottish Government, September 2012 

ISBN 978-1-78256-111-8 (Mobi) 

This document is also available on the HMIP website: www.scotland.gov.uk/hmip 

Further copies are available from: 

HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland 

Room Y.1.4 

Saughton House 

Edinburgh 

EH11 3XD 

Tel: 0131 244 8482 

Fax: 0131 244 8446 

E-mail: Dorothy.Halliday@scotland.gsi.gov.uk 

APS Group Scotland 

DPPAS13340 (09/12) 

w w w . s c o t l a n d . g o v . u k / h m i p

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland Annual Report 2011-12

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